Club Nights and Office Days
by WindAndWaterAlchemist
Summary: Set it modern times, but not completely non-canonical. I tried to stick with the original story at least a fair amount. Full summary inside, plz read. Sesshoumaru/Kagura. I hate modern AU things normally...but I'm doing it anyway, lol.
1. Summary

**About "Club Nights and Office Days":**

**The AU, modern times storyline is, to my mind, extremely overdone and clichéd. However, I am going to write one of these stories anyway, just because I'm bored and wanted to do something different (for me). Also, I'm experiencing a bit of writer's block on my other ongoing story "In Another Time" so this is just something to do while I try to work out where that one is going.**

**Anyways, the basic plot is going to be a Sesshoumaru/Kagura story set in modern Tokyo. Despite how it might seem, I've actually not completely abandoned the canon story. The two huge changes I've made are; 1: After Naraku was defeated, Kagome returned to her own time, and 2: When Kagura fled right before Hakudoshi's death, she actually got away, and survived. However, the other characters assumed she was dead, so this does not change any important events connected to her death; Sesshoumaru, thinking Naraku had killed her, was still angered and sorrowed enough for Tenseiga to be reforged, etc.**

**I may never get around to going anywhere with this story, it's purely a sort of filler during an otherwise writer's blocked period. **

**I'm a bit unsure about the rating of this fic; it has quite a bit of suggestive content and mentions of rape and murder…but I'm not certain it deserves an M rating, as nothing is vividly described. If anyone thinks I should up it to M, please say so, and I'll change it. **

**Anyway, enjoy, and review plz! Constructive criticism taken, but no flames, thank ya very much! **


	2. Chapter 1

There were thirty demons in the room, and some seventy odd humans. Sesshoumaru coolly brushed off what must have been the twentieth human woman to approach him. He was polite…but oh so cold. She practically fled.

The music grated on his nerves, the rhythm apparently designed to send humans into some sort of mating frenzy, judging by the way the "dancing" here resembled clumsy efforts at coupling fully clothed. All it did for Sesshoumaru was give him a headache. Why he'd let InuYasha talk him into this the first time was beyond his comprehension, but by now, he was nearly used to it.

"_C'mon, Sesshoumaru! If I have to endure the torment, at least I can drag you down with me!"_

Considering the way the hanyou whined about coming here every week at Kagome's whim, he seemed to be enjoying himself. The way he was groping Kagome went far past "public display of affection" and into the territory of "public display of soft pornography".

The humans in the room were fully unaware of the demons among them. Demons had adapted to the rise of human power, over the centuries. They had discovered spells which allowed them to appear, to the human eye, as humans. However, they still saw each other as they were meant to be. So though the human females chasing him saw a tall, dark haired, chocolate eyed man, the demonesses who were equally determined to catch his attention saw Sesshoumaru's silver hair, his golden eyes, and his markings. Though, he had been forced to cut his hair to about shoulder length, and wore it in a short ponytail, as the illusion of a human still retained the length of his hair.

Five hundred years, more or less, had passed since the defeat of Naraku. At that time, Kagome had bid InuYasha an undoubtedly romantic and tragic farewell (not that Sesshoumaru had hung around the witness it; he couldn't care less about their pathetic and melodramatic emotions), and she had gone back to her own era. Time had killed all the humans they had once dealt with; Kaede, Miroku, Sango, even, with time, Kohaku and Rin. Of all of them, it was Rin's loss that weighed heaviest on Sesshoumaru's heart. Yet she had lived a full life, married to Kohaku. She had been happy. Sesshoumaru had mourned her when she died in Hell as a child…yet when she passed on for the third and final time as an old woman, he was content. She had lived and died as was a human's fate. Time had flown by, and finally, InuYasha and Kagome were reunited in her time and finally wed. Shippo still lived with them, now fully adult. At the moment, he was dancing indecently close with another kitsune. This entire club disgusted Sesshoumaru.

Still, he'd come. Just like he came every week. He came because she would be there. She danced alone, always, letting every man lust after her; letting none touch her.

Tonight, it was skin tight jeans and a tight white shirt that somehow covered everything and yet left nothing to the imagination, wide sleeves apparently made out of the cloth that could have been used to make the garment less tight. She lifted her arms far above her head and moved her hips to the beat, her black hair rushing out behind her when she spun. She turned and looked at him over her shoulder, with those same wicked red eyes and that same hungry look that he'd first seen five hundred years earlier. He stiffened against the rush of arousal, trying to reign the desire in.

The day Miroku took Hakudoshi into his wind tunnel, Kagura had fled. When Sesshoumaru had met up with InuYasha later that same day and been informed that she'd run off, he'd wondered what good it would do her. Naraku had her heart; surely, no matter how far she ran, one squeeze would cause her death? When he'd never seen her again, he'd assumed she was dead, and tried hard to ignore the pain and the festering anger at Naraku…but Tenseiga had read those feelings and called to be reforged…a path which had led him through numerous trials but eventually had led to him regaining his arm and gaining a sword of his own…a sword now stashed in a vault within a vault in the cellar of the mansion.

Then, in Tokyo, in Kagome's era, the first time InuYasha whiningly dragged him to this horrid den of human hormones, he'd gotten the shock of his life. Kagura, at the center of the dance floor and the center of the entire club's attention, dancing alone, sex incarnate. Men threw money at her feet without her even doing anything compromising. She earned more simply by dancing than some women earned by selling their bodies. When she'd spotted him, she'd given him that same up and down, lusting look she'd given him the first time they'd ever met. All that was missing was the fan.

Later, he'd cornered her and demanded an explanation. Where had she been, for five centuries? She'd explained that she had fled a great distance, onto the continent. When her heart returned to her, she knew that Naraku was dead. Later, she'd traveled up into Europe. She'd learned, as had the other demons, to project an illusion of humanity. She'd traveled all over the world, savoring her freedom.

She didn't know why Naraku hadn't killed her. Perhaps he hadn't felt it was worth the trouble. Perhaps he'd been too busy with Moryoumaru and InuYasha and Sesshoumaru and Kikyo and the threat they all posed to him. Perhaps he simply didn't feel like killing her if he could not be present to see her suffer. Finally, her curiosity about the outside world finally satiated, she had returned to modern Tokyo and taken a job of sorts dancing in this club. Technically, she wasn't employed here, but when men started throwing money to her without being asked, the owner insisted that if she was going to earn money in his establishment, he wanted a share of the loot. So it was a sort of unofficial business arrangement.

Sesshoumaru was entranced. He was the type of man who could have any woman, human or demon, who he wanted. And if he had preferred men, he probably could have had almost any one of those he wanted too. He had the looks, the money, the power, the strange mixture of bad boy appeal and knight-in-shining-armor charm that drove all women and not a few men wild. Occasionally, he spent a week or so in the bed of some appealing demoness. Never a human, and certainly never a man. All in all, he generally went celibate for about fifty years at a time, until the wild Inu within him went nearly mad, took over, and found him a suitable demon woman to seek pleasure from temporarily. Kagura, however, had always managed to arouse more interest in him than the others.

And so, he came here every week, and fought to ignore the heavy beat of the music and the reek of lust pervading the darkness of the club, all for the pleasure of watching her dance, savoring the way she looked at him, the look she never gave to the other men. Perhaps one day he might make a move; but they'd already been apart five hundred years, and even back then, they'd never truly been together. Why rush now? He found the tension somehow delicious, and he had the feeling she agreed.

So every week, he watched her dance, and wondered how long it would be before the tightly strung cord of tension snapped.


	3. Chapter 2

**AN: I don't know how yen or whatever you call them work, so I'm just using dollars, sorry. **

InuYasha held Kagome close up to his body, her back against his front, and rested his chin on her shoulder. The way she insisted on moving her hips to the beat, even when he was trying to talk, was distinctively distracting.

"Kagome, how long do you think it'll be before something happens?"

"What, you mean Sessh and Kagura? Well, I don't know her too well…but Sesshoumaru hasn't had a girl in the entire time since you guys caught up with my time. He's probably going to go mad any day now."

"Ha! You don't know how right you are. In the whole five centuries since Naraku died, I've spent a lot of time with him. He hates weakness of any kind, and he considers the need for sex a weakness. So he holds it off as long as he can…then, every half century or so, he just loses it. Though he never gets crazy enough to take a human, he'll find some demoness and disappear for a week or two. And I mean disappear! Once we shared a house for a few years, and during that time he went into that crazy mode. He came home one night with a demoness…who by the way looked positively giddy about the whole thing…and they didn't come out of his room _once_ in the next two weeks! When they finally emerged, she looked like she'd been hit by a bus several times…but she was still grinning stupidly."

Kagome looked at Sesshoumaru, who was sitting at the bar warding off women left and right while he watched Kagura dance. He was so intense. She saw him as a demon; it would seem the illusory spell didn't work on humans who knew they were looking at a demon. The lust in his eyes was so unlike him, and incredibly attractive. She responded to her husband's statement finally.

"I can imagine…"

"Hey! Quit lusting after my brother!"

She laughed and pushed her hips back. He growled low in her ear.

"Why would I want him when I have you, Yash?"

He gripped her hips and nipped her neck lightly, making her shudder.

"That's better."

……..

Sesshoumaru sighed heavily. As much as he had come to love watching Kagura, he was beginning to wonder if it was worth putting up with the scent of his brother's and sister-in-law's excitement. Didn't they have ample opportunity to enjoy each other at home, in their own bedroom? Why did they insist of groping and grinding it public? At times, he missed the era in which such things would have been considered inappropriate, shocking. Somehow, he wasn't at all surprised when they slipped out the door, their destination undoubtedly the parking lot. What a relief. He was glad they'd brought their own car; he would have killed InuYasha if it had been one of the nights they'd taken his. It would be bad enough riding home with them in the car stinking of their lust.

The song ended, and for a brief moment, there was a blessed absence of blaring sound. Kagura parted the sea of her admirers with a brief wave of her hand, leaving the dance floor. The music started again and Sesshoumaru winced. Kagura hopped up on the barstool beside him and ordered a drink.

"Yo. Kagome and InuYasha go out to the car again?"

"Don't remind me. I have to take that car home."

She laughed; a husky, utterly delicious sound. The owner came out from the room behind the bar and held his hand out to Kagura.

"Pay your tithes, Sister Kagura."

She had a small bag over her shoulder which she collected money in. She pulled it all out and began counting.

"Alright…there's a hundred dollars here, so you get ten. Here ya go."

Satisfied, the owner retreated. Kagura threw back her drink easily.

"Whew, it gets hot on that floor. Hey Rei, would you give me an ice cube?"

The bartender got one out of the icebox with a small pair of tongs and dropped it into Kagura's palm. She smiled at him, and Sesshoumaru was highly amused by the way the young man's face turned completely red and he turned away quickly. Kagura traced the ice around the top of her neck just under her chin, and then down the line of her throat. She was watching him, watching for some reaction. He kept his face still, but he knew perfectly well his eyes gave him away. She brought the cube to her lips and sucked for a moment, then gave a small shrug, as if deciding he wasn't going to give in, and popped it into her mouth and began chewing.

"So, how was your week?"

"Dull as usual. Perhaps next time I change jobs, I'll do something interesting. Extreme sports, maybe. Desk jobs are horrid."

"Ah, but you're the head of the whole company! Doesn't that give you benefits? Expensive coffee, tailored suits, an army of hot young secretaries…"'

He quirked an eyebrow.

"Jealous, Kagura?"

"Hah! Even if I cared, there'd be no reason! You're a dried up old man who just stares and never acts!"

Suddenly driven to prove her wrong, he pushed his fingers into her hair and tilted her head back, licking up her neck in one long swipe, feeling the cool wetness where the ice had been and thrilled by the taste of her skin. He heard the bartender make a little shocked noise and chuckled lowly. The poor fellow must be new here, if he was shocked by things like this. Or maybe he just hadn't seen Kagura ever allow such a thing before. She'd closed her eyes and grabbed Sesshoumaru's head, one hand reaching around to pull his hair free from its band. He moved away quickly. He wasn't intending to take this any further; not tonight.

She quickly recovered, but he found the flush in cheeks both flattering and amusing. She ordered another drink. The bartender looked like he couldn't decide whether to be horrified or turned on by the display.

"I liked your hair better long."

He shrugged, running his fingers through it. Actually, he agreed. His hair was shaggy, shorter in the front and about shoulder length in back. To the humans, who saw his hair as black, he knew it looked great. However, to demons and to himself, the long hair was preferable. Somehow silver hair didn't look so great shoulder length. He was considering cutting it a little more so it was shaggy but not quite so long. He'd seen blondes in this age who pulled that fashion off well, and he figured silver wouldn't be so very different.

"It was necessary to cut it."

"Hmm." She emptied her glass again. "I'm going back. I like this song."

"I'll probably be leaving when InuYasha and Kagome come back. Goodnight."

She winked at him and waved, swaying her hips as she returned to the floor. She melded into the rhythm beautifully. There were few people, he imagined, who could make this vulgar music into something artistic. He made a mental note to someday take her somewhere where she could _really _dance. Something passionate and yet not so cheap and crude. Tango? Hn, maybe. Yes, actually, that was a very appealing thought.

Kagome came into the building, alone. Her hair was a wreck and her clothing was rumpled. Sesshoumaru tried very hard not to think about it.

"We're leaving, if you're ready. Shippo, come on!"

The kitsune pulled himself away from his dance partner. Sesshoumaru saw her press a piece of paper into his hand. Cell phone number, no doubt. He'd seen it before; the numbers never got called. Shippo had turned into a regular heartbreaker.

"Where's InuYasha, Kagome?"

"He fell asleep in the car."

Sesshoumaru was seriously beginning to consider walking home. He had a pounding headache, and the last thing he needed was to be trapped in a confined space with a snoring InuYasha and the scent of InuYasha and Kagome's lovemaking. Grudgingly, he rose and followed Kagome and Shippo out. When he glanced back at Kagura, she gave him a laughing, mock sympathetic look. He rolled his eyes and left the building.


	4. Chapter 3

Sesshoumaru stood staring out the floor-to-ceiling windows of his tenth floor office, trying to ignore the ruckus his brother was making.

"Where'd I put it? I know it's here somewhere!"

The elder brother winced when he heard the sound of breaking glass followed by

"Whoops!"

He turned.

"InuYasha, what did you break?"

InuYasha was on his knees on the expensive carpet, rifling around in an old cardboard box, looking for who knew what. There were now shards of glass scattered around him.

"Just an old picture frame. It doesn't have a photo in it anyway."

"What are you looking for anyway? And is there some reason you had to haul this box into _my _office while you look?"

"I couldn't do it at home. There's something in here I wanna give Kagome for her birthday, so I don't want her to see!"

"What is it?"

"A necklace Sango gave me before she died. She wanted Kagome to have it someday."

"That'd be worth a fortune by now. Five hundred year old jewelry."

"Scrooge! Is money all you think about?! No wait, it's money and Kagura's butt, right?"

Sesshoumaru growled.

"InuYasha…"

"Okay, okay! Sorry! Sheesh!"

Sighing heavily, Sesshoumaru hit a button on his desk.

"Something you need, sir?"

"Yes, Maki, I think you'd better bring a broom and a bag…InuYasha broke some glass."

"Would you like me to start work on getting that restraining order for you?"

Sesshoumaru smiled at the wry tone of his secretary's voice. InuYasha spluttered, offended.

A moment later, the girl entered. She was very pretty, but not extraordinary. Her black hair was pulled back in a bun behind her head and her brown eyes shone with mischief behind expensive glasses. Her grey, skirted suit was tailored and designer made. Being Sesshoumaru's secretary was an exceptionally well paying job.

She was very efficient, and very quickly she had all of the glass cleaned up. Sesshoumaru prided himself of having very good workers…and having a secretary who could type like lightening and sweep on carpet was certainly worth her exorbitant pay.

Five minutes later, InuYasha jumped up.

"Aha, I found it!"

"Eureka." Sesshoumaru said dryly, not looking up from the papers he was examining. "Will you leave me alone now?"

"Fine, grouchy." InuYasha headed for the door, necklace in one and box tucked beneath the other arm. "You know, you're getting grouchier every week. One of these days you're going to go over the edge. All work and no play makes youkai go crazy."

Sesshoumaru rolled his eyes and didn't respond.

………

The Ferrari was a blatant, unnecessary frivolity. He'd bought it only because no one would shut up until he did. Kagome, InuYasha, Shippo…even Maki and some of his other employees…they'd all tormented him at every turn.

"_You're one of the richest guys on earth! You have to have a cool car!"_

"_Yeah, c'mon, a nice bright red Ferrari. I've always loved red."_

"_Yeah, Uncle Sessh. Ferraris are cool."_

"_Hey boss, you ever think of getting a fancier car? Your old one's getting beat up."_

He's bought the darned thing just to make them stop pestering him. Not that he didn't enjoy it…he'd never been afraid of drawing attention to himself, as long as it was _quiet _attention. The Ferrari accomplished this well enough; people generally seemed to realize he was too rich and too important to want to hear their nagging voices. Still, it felt slightly ludicrous to park the flashy contraption in the parking lot of this small, rather grubby grocery store. He wasn't neurotic about his money; but he also wasn't going to spend money on expensive mustard when he could get it just as good cheap at a place like this. Generally, he thought of cars the same way…the Ferrari was a marked exception.

He wore black jeans and an untucked, long-sleeved white button-down work shirt. Throughout the years, he'd come to appreciated casualness, both in clothing and just in life in general. Even so, people in the parking lot stopped to gawk at him. He could understand it, with the car…but even before he'd gotten it, he'd been stared at like that. He wondered sometimes if even humans, without even realizing it, picked up the power of his aura and were both drawn to and yet frightened of him. Like mice hypnotized by the eyes of the snake. He smirked to himself at the comparison. These were very lucky mice; he had no cause to kill them.

Sometimes he felt utterly ridiculous carrying around a basket and buying bread and other trivial things. It was so far removed from his character in many ways. He could have had one of the servants from the mansion or even Maki do his shopping for him…but he'd never particularly liked having people do things for him. He hated the thought of implying laziness. He also could have simply had the kitchen staff order in food, if he'd been living in the mansion. But he preferred to live in an apartment alone (albeit a penthouse apartment), and let InuYasha and Kagome live in the mansion. The huge home had been passed around a lot…It was Mother who had had the enormous dwelling built about fifty years back. She'd quickly gotten bored of it and had decided to go live in Rome, and had left her mansion to her son, who'd passed it over to his half-brother.

He was debating between two flavors of toothpaste and trying hard to ignore the stares of at least five human women when a sing-songy, teasing voice came to him.

"Yo, Sesshoumaru! Buying dog treats?"

He should have picked up her scent, but in places like this, full of the scents of people and food and shampoo and any multitude of other things, it was hard to pick out any one smell. He turned to acknowledge Kagura and was immediately aware of the small girl accompanying her. A demon child, with small pointed ears and black hair and huge blue eyes. He was shocked and inexplicably pained. Why hadn't he given any thought to the fact that, in five hundred years, Kagura had undoubtedly had lovers, just as he had? And that it was perfectly possible she could have children? Considering the little girl was a demon, she could be up to thirty years old and still retain the look and mind of a seven or eight year old, depending on the type of demon. He wandered what sort of youkai the father was. The child smelled like Kagura and perhaps some sort of weather demon.

He was surprised by the way his voice carried the emotions swirling through him; surprise, a strange and nonsensical sense of pain and betrayal. How ridiculous.

"You…have a daughter."

There wasn't really any question. The tot smelled too much like Kagura.

A strange, pained look came over Kagura's lovely features.

"Being free from one evil doesn't guarantee there won't be others. But this isn't the place to explain. Sesshoumaru, this is my daughter, Katie. Katie, this is Sesshoumaru-san. He's Mommy's friend from a long, long time ago."

What did Kagura mean? Had some idiot broken her heart? Or…was this child the outcome of force? He determined to make her speak, perhaps at the club this Friday night.

The girl had very intelligent eyes. Her voice was young and childish, but her speech was well developed.

"Hello, Sesshoumaru-san! Pleased to meet you!"

Suddenly, she began using sign language. Though he was baffled by her doing this when it was evident she could both hear and speak, he automatically followed the motions. He'd learned sign language when it was still a new thing…it went along with the many foreign languages he spoke fluently, a vast catalogue of things he learned just in case they might be useful one day.

"You are a very strong youkai, Sesshoumaru-sama. I am honored to meet you. You have pretty markings."

He was rather startled by the "sama" and the "honor". He didn't get treated that way nearly so much these days as he used to. This girl seemed very aware of levels of demons and the proper way to treat the powerful ones. He understood the use of sign language suddenly. Saying what she'd just said would be dangerous aloud, with humans around. But using sign language, which it was fairly unlikely anyone nearby knew, allowed her to speak of demons and their power and their markings without calling the humans' attention. He smiled, finding himself charmed by the little girl, despite that her existence caused him a twinge of pain.

"Thank you, Katie-chan." He glanced up at Kagura. "Katie?"

She shrugged.

"She was born while I was in the States. It's Katrina, really. I liked the name. And Katie suits her."

"How old is she?"

Kagura lowered her voice to ensure no human heard the strange thing she was about to say.

"Fifteen. Physically and mentally about eight, I guess. Mature though, isn't she?"

It was obvious by the pride in her voice and the affection in her eyes that, whatever the circumstances of Katie's conception and birth, Kagura loved her daughter.

"Yes, she is."

In those bright, cheerful blue eyes, Sesshoumaru found himself taken to memories of his own "daughter" when she'd been a child. It had been a long time since he'd had close contact with a child, and never since Rin had he truly felt any great affection for one. Katie, however, made him wonder if he could ever feel that way again. He already cared for her mother, though he would not admit how much even to his own mind, despite the snickering voice deep within that was all too honest. Perhaps he would have a chance to get to know the little girl more. It was a pleasant prospect.

"Well, I guess we'd better be on our way." Kagura glanced down at the two tubes of toothpaste Sesshoumaru was holding. "Take the mint, that orange flavored stuff is terrible." He gave her an amused look and put the orange back. Laughing softly, she took Katie's hand and brushed by him close enough to touch. He savored her scent. When he'd found her in the club after five centuries, he'd been pleasantly surprised to discover that, with Naraku's death, the scent of her master had disappeared and now she just smelled good, like cinnamon and apples and other good things…she turned to look over her shoulder at him. "See you Friday?"

He nodded, somehow made speechless by the hope in her eyes, the almost _need _to be reassured that she would see him. When he nodded, she smiled hugely, and went on her way, leaving his heart beating a staccato rhythm that he really didn't want to acknowledge.


	5. Chapter 4

**AN: If by any chance there is really a John Bell of Bridgton, no offense meant to him, I just pulled this stuff off the top of my head. Lol.**

"Sir, your brother's here. He just knocked over the water cooler."

Sesshoumaru rubbed his throbbing temples and growled.

"Kick him out. I may reconsider that restraining order."

There was some vague noise over the intercom and then a heavy sigh from Maki.

"He won't leave. He says it's really important."

"Get him to tell you what it is. I'm not letting him in here today unless it's life or death."

More unintelligible babble from the speaker. He could hear InuYasha's voice speaking loudly and urgently. Finally, Maki spoke again, sounding droll.

"Well, not life and death, sir, but it probably could have been. Shippo apparently was webcam chatting with some demon girl and decided to show off…used his fox-fire in his room and set his bed on fire…the entire room's burnt out now, though the rest of the house fortunately wasn't damaged. Want me to call the insurance people?"

Sesshoumaru wondered if jumping out a ten-story window could kill him. It would be a merciful relief. Fortunately for him, his insurance firm was run by a demon, who would understand the cause of the fire and likely reimburse him for at least some of the damage. InuYasha would have to pay the rest.

"Yeah, you'd better call them. And tell InuYasha that if he doesn't leave now, I'm going to throw him out my window. It's a long way down."

Maki laughed, and a moment later spoke again.

"Alright, he's gone."

Maki was an interesting character. Most of the people who worked on the same office level as Sesshoumaru were demons, as that way he was not constantly forced to make excuses for the strange events which sometimes took place, like the time he got angry with InuYasha and lifted him up by the neck with one hand. Not exactly a normal feat to a human to execute. However, Maki was a human who had been adopted and raised by demons, who had allowed her to know the truth about them. Sesshoumaru counted himself lucky to have found the girl; with her dry wit, her many skills, and her complete comfort around youkai. Also, she was one of the rare females, human or youkai, who did not constantly scramble for Sesshoumaru's attention. She seemed attracted to him, but, having grown up with demons, she was used to their surreal beauty and was not enormously affected by it. She smiled a lot around him and might occasionally blush if he looked at her for a second too long, but other than that, she remained pleasantly level-headed.

Relieved that InuYasha had, for once, actually left, Sesshoumaru glared at the large pile of papers awaiting his signature and sighed. Next time his illusory human form got old enough to retire, he was going to move, reset the illusion to youth and take up an _interesting _job. He had the feeling he'd kick butt at just about any sport. Or maybe acting…no, too much attention in either job. Maybe he'd join the army, get a combat assignment in some remote, warring nation. That might be good. Or maybe he'd teach school...for all his coldness, he truly liked children, and the mischief they constantly got into would keep the job from being boring. Anything but this!

"Would you like some tea, sir? Saya just brought in some beef jerky, want some?"

"No thank you on both counts, Maki. What I really want is a paper shredder…but I suppose these papers are too important to shred."

"I imagine so sir." He could hear the laughter in her voice over the speaker. "I suppose you'll just have to suffer in silence."

"Hm. You may as well go home, Maki. It's only an hour until the business day ends, and I am unlikely to have need of your services during that time."

"Is it okay? My boyfriend did want to take me out tonight…"

"Yes, it's fine. You'll be paid for that hour as well. Have fun tonight."

"Yes sir, thank you sir."

The intercom turned off a moment later. Sesshoumaru savored the silence. He finished the papers and pulled his laptop closer, moving to check through his emails. He wasn't sure why he brought up a new window and Googled Kagura. She'd taken a foreign sounding surname at some point; she'd told him it some three weeks back at the club. Kagura Bell. It had a nice sound to it. Now, he wondered if it might be the surname of Katie's father. The thought irritated him.

He was surprised by the myriad of search results when he typed her name. Apparently she had achieved some small amount of fame in downtown Tokyo. Image results, picture after picture of her dancing in the club. She even seemed to have her own small paparazzi-like following, though she didn't seem to mind them; she was always smiling; pictures in the park with Katie, or waving at the camera with another girl. It was strange, seeing the illusions the humans saw, which were all that came out in photography. She looked almost the same, but she had big brown eyes instead of those delicious ruby orbs. Katie in illusory form, without the big blue eyes, looked nearly identical to her mother.

There were other results too, blogs written by jealous women calling Kagura rude names; blogs written by lovesick men moaning over the way she was so sexy and yet so aloof at the same time; the occasion small article in some local entertainment paper commented on her remarkable beauty and the challenge presented by the fact that she always danced alone. The first man to dance with her would be both hero and enemy to a great many men.

Then, he found something strange; an English language article dated some nearly sixteen years before, buried in the online archives of an American newspaper.

He read it hesitantly, made uneasy and eventually shocked by its contents.

"35 year old John Bell, of Bridgton, was sentenced today to the death sentence, found guilty of the rape and murders of fifteen young women in the area. The case and the long-drawn-out trial have worn hard on the hearts of the victims' families…but perhaps no one has born so much turmoil as young Kagura Bell, the wife of the murderer. Mr. Bell committed his crimes at his hunting cabin several miles away from his home, while his wife believed he was working. The families of the victims have reacted in different ways to the Japanese immigrant who had the misfortune of marrying a madman. Some have shared their sorrow with her and accepted that she is innocent of any wrongdoing; others blame her simply for being the killer's wife. The young woman now finds herself alone in a land not her home, pregnant with the child of a serial killer. Where will she go from here?"

Sesshoumaru stared blankly at the screen for a long moment. Then, he typed in the name of the man and the town. Apparently, the case was infamous. The victims had been lured into the woods by the almost unnaturally handsome John Bell, delighted at the idea of an adulterous assignation with him. Arriving at his cabin, they were greeted by the grisly sight of his previous victims' charred remains stacked in one corner of the cabin, and then raped and killed themselves. No one could understand how the victims were burned; the damage was most similar to that which might theoretically be caused by an unrealistically long strike of lightening. To Sesshoumaru, it made all too much sense. A lightening demon. For all he knew, it could have been a descendant of the Thunder Brothers' tribe. Such demons had strange, unstable tempers and a tendency towards madness. He clicked another article by the same reporter.

"Today, infamous serial rapist and killer John Bell was executed. Several attempts at electrocution failed, puzzling experts immensely. Eventually, he was injected with a death-causing serum. Even at that, it apparently took five injections to finally send the villain on his way. At the permission of his wife, Kagura Bell, his body has been handed over to medical experts in an effort to determine the cause of his inhuman strength."

There was anther article beneath, dated a while later.

"Kagura Bell, widow of infamous serial killer John Bell, has announced today that she is taking her newborn daughter Katrina Bell and returning to her native Japan. Some will mourn our country's loss of a young woman who stood up against such horror bravely and with a sense of desiring that right be done; others, those who find her at fault for her husband's crimes, will be glad to see her gone."

Sesshoumaru breathed out a long sigh and tried to shake away the horror and the melancholy. The reporter who had followed the case was an oddball; apparently more focused on pitying Kagura than reporting the facts of the case. Probably, he'd been in love with her.

His heart ached for Kagura. Was it the fate of beautiful women to become entangled with evil men? Though, her association with Naraku had been completely involuntary; he had created her, and she had no choice about that. But how had this murderer ensnared her? Had she loved him? Did she still mourn for that love, for what she must have thought he was? Then again, in her day, Kagura had been a killer too…but not like that. She'd been a soldier, not a murderer, even if she was working for a villain.

And Katie…did she know about her father? Would the madness be a part of her inheritance? Would she, with time, become not so different from her sire? The thought was painful.

Thoroughly gloomy now, Sesshoumaru shut down and closed the laptop, sticking it into its carrying case and grabbing his coat. He pushed a button that drew down locking metal blinds over the windows and locked the door on his way out. In the elevator on the way down, he extended his claws and examined them thoughtfully. He too had killed a great deal, back in the old days…but rarely humans and never without reason, though his reasons may be rather obscure to some. Nearly all demons had blood on their hands, but most of it was old blood, remnants of days when surviving meant fighting and killing. Nowadays, those who still killed were generally evil.

He nodded to the several security personnel he passed on the way to the parking garage, and finally climbed into the Ferrari. He decided he'd better go by the house and assess the fire damage before he went home.


	6. Chapter 5

The pole was a new feature. And Kagura was able to bend her body in very interesting ways. She'd somehow managed to lock her ankles around the top of the pole and hang briefly upside-down, drawing a chorus of whistles and hoots from the crowd. There was something incongruous about watching a woman dressed modestly (if appealingly) dancing like that. He wondered why she did this. Did she need the money? He didn't really think so. He noticed small things that suggested she had money to spare; manicured nails, professionally cut hair, well made though not extravagant clothing, the scent of moderately expensive perfume. It would seem that she danced simply because she liked to. Even all those years and years ago, she had been not so unlike this; provocative and yet aloof, a woman who would instill desire and yet never satisfy it. She loved the attention. To some degree, she appeared shallow…but Sesshoumaru knew different. Five centuries before; she had been a captive fighting for freedom, cowardly and yet brave, fighting a battle as much with herself as with her master; fighting her own fear so that she could fight Naraku. And only sixteen years ago, she had been the wife of a madman, and she had come through still able to smile, to dance, to laugh. She wasn't shallow.

Between songs, she left the floor and, as was her habit, joined him at the bar. She was flushed prettily and her hair was tumbled from all the movement. However, he noticed that the whites of her eyes were slightly red and there was a vague scent of illness about her. She sneezed into a tissue and smiled wryly at him.

"Colds didn't use to be able to affect demons. The darned things have mutated, gotten stronger. Though it's been ten years since I had one."

He smiled slightly at the nasally, stuffed up sound of her voice. He found it inordinately cute. He bought her a drink out of sympathy, making her laugh.

"You know, these days pole dancing is a perfectly respectable method of exercising, so even we decent gals can do it."

He smirked.

"You consider yourself decent?"

She laughed and poked his shoulder lightly.

"Jerk."

Sobering, he touched her as he would not normally, laying his palm against her cheek.

"I found out about Bell."

A flicker of pain entered her eyes. She wrapped her long, soft fingers around the hand on her face and took it off, twining her fingers with his.

"Come outside with me? I can't really talk about this here."

He nodded. He'd brought his own car tonight…the old one, not the Ferrari…and let InuYasha and Kagome take theirs, sick of being stuck with them. He was aware that half the club went into a state of shock at seeing Kagura leave with anybody. It was both amusing and annoying.

She climbed into the passenger seat and, as soon as he was settled in the driver's, she spoke.

"I always thought about finding you, after Narakudied and I was free. I always had a thing for you…but you know that of course. But, I just didn't want to come back here. For a long time it just had too many bad memories…then eventually there was the war. I ended up in a detainee camp in the States for a while because I was Japanese…but I survived. I survive everything, don't I?

I was married before...back in the early 1800s, in England. I married a human. He was one of those kids who was raised by demons. He was the first human in a long, long time who'd seen my true form. He was a preacher. He probably would have tried to exorcise me, if the demons who raised him hadn't explained that we're not _that _type of demon. I didn't love him, not romantically. But it had been ages since I could really talk to someone, tell them about my past. He was one of the only true friends I've ever had, so when he fell in love with me, I humored him and married him, knowing he only had a short life to live. We were agreed that we shouldn't have children…it's not that we had anything against hanyous, but we didn't want that hard life for a child of ours. He died younger than he should have…he was only 40 when he got the fever and died.

I met John Bell in a club not too much different than this one. Now, I wonder if his original intent that night was to find a victim. He was a lightening demon, and I was the only demoness in the bar. I guess he was surprised and pleased to find one of his own. He was very charming, very good looking. Black hair and eyes like Katie's. He was very interesting; back in the days of the American Indians, he used to be a sort of deity to one of the tribes; he lived among them, but during religious festivals he would dispel his illusion, show his true form, use his power. They worshipped him. He never told me that he used to kill one person at each festival. The tribe considered it to be a small price to pay for having a deity among them…I read about the tribe on the Internet later and realized what he had done.

I wasn't in love with him, not really. Infatuated, I suppose. For some reason, even though there are youkai everywhere in the world, there aren't very many in America. So when two youkai meet, loneliness for their own kind can drive them to stupidity. I hate being alone, hate being in places where no one knows what I really am. So I didn't really question John. I just savored having someone like me around. I married him and just didn't ask questions. I thought he was cheating on me and didn't really care, and when he came home smelling sort of singed, I figured he'd just gone out somewhere remote and used his power a little, for fun…I never would have thought he was killing.

About three months after we married, I realized how stupid I was. After Robert, my first husband, and having been alone for so long with just humans around, I hadn't really thought the marriage through. After all, he'd die in a few years, right? Then I remembered. He wouldn't die. How incredibly stupid of me to tie myself to another demon. He wouldn't die. It had crossed my mind before, but I dunno, I must have been too caught up in infatuation to think about it as much as I should have. He'd be around for as long as I would. I'd sacrificed my freedom…

Then he got me pregnant. I didn't want kids. That night was the first glimmer of true evil I saw in him. We were both well aware that I was fertile…and he forced me. Over and over. He was the last in his line or something, and wanted an heir. After that, I got suspicious. I was the one who found the bodies, you know. I followed him one day, to the cabin. It was horrific…but I've seen plenty of horror in my days. He wasn't careful. There was so much evidence stacked against him that it was ludicrous. He'd actually taped the crimes. He was sick. I was careful, didn't get my fingerprints on anything. I turned him in without a moment of hesitation. Told the cops I'd suspected he was cheating on me and that was why I'd followed him. They never really doubted my innocence, there wasn't a speck of evidence against me.

The trial was long and dragged out, not because there was any doubt of his guilt, but because he had this incredible lawyer, a demon, who kept fiddling around trying to keep him from getting capital punishment. Finally though, it got through. I was afraid they wouldn't be able to kill him…that he would escape and come after me. But they killed him. I was delighted to hand his body over to the scientists. Did you know that when a demon dies, their illusion becomes reality? His body became human when he died, so the docs couldn't find anything unusual. It was kinda funny, watching their confusion.

I stayed in the US until Katrina was born, until the cops had tied everything up and didn't need to talk to me anymore. Then I came back here. Your name is everywhere here. I always felt strangely comforted, seeing you in the papers or online, knowing you were nearby. Even seeing Kagome's graduation notice from the nursing academy, or that stupid article about InuYasha falling off the roof of your mansion and "miraculously" remaining unhurt…it was good to know you're all here…But…I felt like such an idiot for all the stupid mistakes I've made…and I remembered how once I was an enemy…and I just didn't have the guts to go see any of you. Then, you all found me."

He studied her. Somehow, it seemed too simple, too emotionless. Had she truly married a demon she didn't love just out of sheer loneliness and brief infatuation? Or was she uncomfortable sharing her true emotions? There was no lie in her voice…perhaps, with Naraku's death, it had seemed to Kagura that there could be nothing worse out there, and she had become careless. He spoke quietly.

"And Katrina? You seem to love her, despite that you didn't want children and despite the manner of her conception."

"Yes. The pregnancy was horrible…not just with the entire scandal and trial…but I was sick the whole time. I didn't even know a demoness could get sick when pregnant; over the years I've known some other demonesses who had kids, and they never did. In the end, I think it was something about Katie. Something about the mix of different types of youki, maybe. But, despite it all, I couldn't hold it against her. None of it was her fault. And she's beautiful. If I had known having a daughter would be so wonderful, I might not have been so unwilling in the first place."

"And what do you intend to do now? What is it you do during the week, anyway?"

"I'm a translator. I learned to speak a lot of languages, traveling so much. I work for a business that attaches translators to groups of tourists, then I go with them around Tokyo, translate for them. It's a fun job. I work every other week, since it's a pretty time-consuming job. Sometimes, during the working week, I hardly get a chance to go home at all, since some tourists want to explore the day-life and the nightlife…so the off week I spend a lot of time with Katie."

"And on Fridays you come here."

"It's a form of relaxation. Naraku made me a dancer. It's in my blood. There are some parts of his influence I can't escape, don't even want to."

"It suits you."

"Yeah. I wonder if we should even bother going back in. Everyone in there is already going to be babbling about me leaving with some guy."

"I'll have to let InuYasha sniff the car to prove anything didn't happen."

She laughed melodiously.

"Let's go for a drive. Maybe you could take me home? Usually I take a taxi."

"You don't have a car?"

"Driving makes me uneasy. I've never taken to it."

"Alright. Just tell me where to go."

The route she described took them into the outer part of the city, into a nice suburban area. Her house was a large two-story building, white with dark trimmings, though in the darkness he couldn't see whether they were black or some deep color. There was a porch light on, and several rooms had light spilling out the windows.

"Who is it that stays with Katie while you're gone?"

"Don't sound so jealous, hon." He glared at the term and she laughed. "I have a roommate…or a housemate, rather. Another demoness. Her name's Kaname. She's going to a university in the city and she gets a lot of space for a small amount of money here, as long as she agrees to take care of Katie in the evenings when I'm out."

He got out of the car and opened her door for her. She gave him a mocking look, but there was pleasure in her eyes at the gesture. She looked up at the sky and sighed.

"Do you ever miss the days before the humans built these big, bright cities? Do you ever miss the stars?"

He tilted his head up and regarded the blank, blurry sky.

"Yes. But are you not able to fly up high enough to see them?"

"Not really. I lost my feathers at some point. I can teleport using the wind, but not really fly."

He was somewhat tempted to wrap his arms around her and take her up with him…but resisted. It was enough that she'd explained her past to him; it was enough that he'd driven her home. He didn't like doing anything too quickly. He'd moved forward enough tonight.

Katie suddenly burst out the front door and ran down the steps and path, wrapping her arms around her mother's legs, beaming.

"Mommy!" She turned and directed her almost frighteningly Rin-like grin to Sesshoumaru. "Hi, Sesshoumaru-sama!"

He nodded and smiled back. Smiles came easier these days…sometimes he looked back and wondered how much he'd changed over the centuries. In many ways, his basic mentality was still the same, but he had adapted, learned how to live with others, and with humans. Sometimes he regretted that he hadn't smiled at Rin more, back then. Still…she had known he cared. But that wasn't going to keep him from ensuring he didn't make the same mistakes again. This little girl would have his smiles.

He found the girl strange, somehow. There was a latent power hanging about her that was not suggestive of either her mother or her father's type of youki. The strange wisdom in her eyes went far past her age. She made him nervous somehow…yet he found her loveable.

"I'd better return before InuYasha goes mad with the curiosity. Good night, Kagura, Katie."

"Good night."

There was an affection in Kagura's eyes that made him as close to giddy as he ever came…not that that was particularly close…and Katie was grinning up at her mother somehow knowingly. In some odd way, she was like a mix of Kanna and Rin; part irresistible cuteness and part eerie power. He got in the car and waved briefly at them before he pulled away.


End file.
